Roll toilet paper holder



Sept. 26, 1950 G. 0. GRAUMLICH ROLL TOILET PAPER HOLDER Filed April 8, 1946 milk:

INVENTOR BY 2 AT 4RNEY I Patented Sept. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLL TOILET PAPER HDLDER George DfGraumlich, Miami, Fla.

Application April'S, 1946, Serial No. 660,472 v 8 Claims. (01. sic-55.2) f

The present invention relates to dispensing holders for rolls of toilet paper.

In public washrooms, particularly in factories andindustrial establishments where the Washrooms are used-by large numbers of workmen some of whom have a tendency to be careless and untidy, the neat maintenance of toilet paper presents a serious problem. Numerous holders have been provided for dispensing paper in limited quantities in such a way as to discourage the release of excess quantities from the holder which might become strewed about the floor and fixtures of the room. Most of such holders have been designed to dispense individual, separate sheets of paper, which is a form of toilet paper more expensive than roll toilet paper. No holder for the more economical roll paper, so far as I know, has prior to the present invention been capable of dispensing predetermined lengths of paper and preventing the unrolling of excess lengths which'might hang down from the holder onto the floor.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a holder for roll toilet paper which will eliminate the above described difliculties.

Further objects are to provide a holder which will be extremely easy to install, which will have no separable or detachable parts that might be come lost or misplaced (like the central Wooden dowel of the conventional horizontally disposed roll hanger), which will permit the roll to be replaced easily and quickly, and which will be equally operative whether the roll is quite round or considerably flattened. This latter is an advantage of considerable importanc since the carton packaging of many rolls makes them quite fiat or elliptical, as distinguished from accurately round in cross section, a condition which militates against their free and easy rotation when hung from the conventional hanger and when mounted in many other kinds of holders.

Another object is to provide a holder which will permit paper to be pulled from it at a large number of difierent angles. Thus it becomes unnecessary to make a more or less straight vertically downward pull to avoid prematurely tearing the paper, as is necessary in the case of horizontally mounted holders. This advantage greatly increases the number of locations at which the new holder can be positioned, making it possible in many installations to mount the holder out of the way instead of requiring it tobe mounted at some definitely fixed location which might makethe roll convenient to reach and. to

use but quite inconvenient to install or to avoid accidentally striking.

A further obj ect is to make the ease or rotation, resulting from the degree'of friction with which the roll resists rotation, readily adjustable by the simple expedient of pushing the roll more or less down on the supporting rod or spindle which mounts the core of the roll.

Other and more general objects are concerned with providing a dispensingholder of the class indicated which will b simple in construction, inexpensive to make, durable and fool-proof in use and adapted to be readily mounted in operative position on any wall or analogous vertical surface.

With these and other objects in view, all of which will be evident to those skilled inthe art from the following description, the invention comprises certain novel principles which will now be explained.

The accompanying drawing illustrates certain embodiments of the invention which I have reduced to actual practice and which I have found give satisfactory and reliable results in use and which I therefore at present prefer. These embodiments are explained solely for the purpose of illustrating the inventive principles and not for the purpose of limiting them to the specific features of construction incorporated in these embodiments. 1

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a holder constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention; l

Fig. -2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the construction shown inyFig. 1;

Fi 3 is a side elevationalview ofa modified type of holder; and

Fig. 4 is a front'elevational view of the holder shown inFig. 3.

The invention comprises essentially means for mounting a roll of toilet paper at an inclination to the vertical so that'the free end of the paper will hang-from the rolled portion, in a mor or less vertical direction, so that it can be easily grasped and pulled to rotate the roll for unwinding a further length. The invention also includes, in its preferred embodiments, means for yieldably offering some resistance to unwinding movements of the roll, so that the roll will not spin freely and dispense any excess length of paper.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the holder comprises 'a base I in the form of a block of wood or the like having sufiicient thickness and front face area to provide a mounting for a stout rod 2 which is permanently secured in a hole drilled into the block at such an angle that the rod will project forwardly from the front face of the block at an angle of approximately 45.

The rod, which is here shown in the form of a wooden dowel, may be fastened in the block by a screw or the like 3 which is threaded into the rod from a notch or seat cut into the rear wall of the block.

The vertical front face of the block should have an area sufficient to provide enough margin around the hole from which the rod projects to make the construction quite strong and durable. The lower end of the block may be beveled as shown at 4, to enhance the ornamental appearance of the base, and the upper end of the block may be similarl beveled to provide the downwardly inclined fiat surface 5 in a plane substantially normal to the axis of the rod 2 for a purpose hereinafter explained.

The block may be mounted on a wall or other vertical surface by some such means as the screws 6 which are set into the wall through seats cut into the beveled surfaces 4, 5. The lower of these screws 6 may be directed through the dowel, thus holding the dowel in the block and eliminating the screw 3.

A tube I, conveniently made of metal, having one end closed by a cap portion 8, is mounted for free rotation coaxially on the rod by means of a bearing screw 9 set into the axis of the rod through the cap of the tube. The diameter of this tube is such that it will penetrate and mount the usual cardboard tubular core ll] of a roll of toilet paper I I, in the manner best shown in Fig. 2. g It is preferred to make the fit of the core It on the tube I fairly'tight and frictional so that the tube will rotate with the roll. This fit is easily accomplished by flaring outwardly the :inner or lower end portion of the tube or by providing the tube with a few peripherally spaced outstanding ribs I2 which, as shown in Fig. 1, are parallel to the axis of the tube and are radially thickest at the lower end of the tube, tapering in toward the surface of the tube to merge therewith at about the middle of the length of the tube. A roll I I may be forced down onto such a tube and make tight engagement with it, and the roll will thus be held at any selected degree of penetration of the tube in the roll core I0.

As has been explained, the surface 5 of the base I lies in a plane which i normal to the axis of the rod. 2 and the tube 1. This makes the surface 5 parallel to the surface of the lower end of the roll I I. In use the roll is pushed down on the tube until its lower end rubs the surface 5 with sufiicient friction to keep the roll from freely' turning on the rod 2. The degree of friction is made insufficient to cause the paper to be torn when its free end I3 is pulled sufficiently gently to turn the roll to unwind a greater length. However, the degree of friction is made sufiicient to keep the roll from turning when the free end axis and which do not present any free portion if the paper be severed close to the roll, or which are apt to present too long a free portion if they rotate freely so that the paper can be torn at a distance from the roll or if the roll should continue to rotate after the paper is torn.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate a modification which is adapted to be mounted on a wall or the like I4 which can be provided with a pocket or recess into which a portion of the holder can project. This holder is made in the form of a sheet metal housing comprising a base having a front plate 15 designed to cover with its margins the opening in the wall and a receptacle secured to the back of the plate I5 and made up of a floor plate I B and a back plate !'I, both of which project into the wall pocket.

The floor H3 is a flat plate projecting upwardly and rearwardly at an angle of about 45 from the front plate I5, and the back plate I? is cylindrically curved about an axis which is normal to the plate I6 at its center. This cylindrically curved plate is joined at its lower edge to the floor plate l6 and at its side and upper edges to the back of the front plate 55. Secured to the plate I6 in the line of the axis of the back plate I! is a rod 18 in the form of a wooden dowel or the like which mounts a tube I9 rotatably fastened on it by the screw 29, in the same way' that the tube I is mounted on the rod 2. The tube I9 is best made flared or ribbed in its lower portion, like the tube I.

A roll II of paper is mounted on the tube I9 by pushing its core I9 firmly down on the tube 19 until the surface of the lower edge of the roll rubs the floor plate I6 with sufficient friction to prevent the free unwinding of an excess length of paper. Thus the fioor plate I 5 performs the same function with relation to the roll II as does the surface 5 in Figs. 1 and 2.

It will be evident that in Fig. 3 a roll of paper II is mounted at the same inclination to the vertical as is the roll in Figs. 1 and 2 and that a short free length of paper will hang more or less vertically from the roll. Both constructions thus position the roll in the same way and prevent the dispensing of excess paper in the same way. The principal differences between the two constructions are matters of appearance and aptitude for mounting on walls or other vertical surfaces that can or cannot be provided with a pocket.

Both constructions, and others in which the invention may be embodied, may be modified from the specific arrangements which have been described, but all such modifications, to the extent that they embody the principles of the invention as defined by the appended claims, are to .be deemed within the scope and purview thereof.

I claim:

l. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper having a tubular core, said holder comprising a base adapted to be mounted on a fixed surface and a supporting rod fastened directly to the base and projecting obliquely upwardly therefrom, when the base is in mounted position, for penetrating and mounting the tubular core of the roll, the upper portion only of the base being provided with a fiat surface normal to the axis of the rod to provide a substantial area for serving as a bearing for the lower end of the roll.

2. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper having a tubular core, said holder comprising a base adapted to be mounted on a fixed surface,

a supporting rod fastened directly to the base and projecting obliquely upwardly therefrom, when the base is in mounted position, and a. tubular sleeve rotatably mounted on the rod for penetrating and mounting the tubular core of the roll, a portion of the base being provided with a flat surface normal to the axis of the rod and sleeve for serving as a bearing for the lower end of the roll.

3. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper hav-- ing a tubular core, said holder comprising a block having a vertical surface adapted to be fastened to the vertical surface of a wall and a supporting rod fastened directly to the block.

and projecting obliquely upwardly therefrom,

I when the block is in mounted position, for penetrating and mounting the tubular core of the roll, a portion only of the upper surface of the block between the vertical surface thereof and the base of the rod being disposed normal to the axis of the rod to provide a substantial area for serving as a bearin for the lower end of the roll.

4. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper having a tubular core, said holder comprising a base having a plate portion for attachment to the vertical surface of a wall andhaving a pocket adapted to extend inwardly beyond said surface, a floor provided in said pocket oblique to the surface of the wall, a supporting rod fastened directly to said floor and extending perpendicularly therefrom, and a tubular sleeve rotatably mounted on therod for penetrating and mounting the tubular core of the roll while the lower endof the roll rests on said floor.

ing a tubular core, said holder comprising a base 6 axial rotation thereon and mount the tubular core of the roll, said tube having an upper cylindrical portion and having its lower portion only outwardly flaring so as to be adapted to make frictional engagement with said core.

7. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper having a tubular core, said holder comprising a base adapted to be mounted on a fixed surface and including a fiat portion adapted to make an oblique angle to the horizontal when the base is in mounted position and to serve as a bearing for the lower end of the roll, a supporting rod fastened directly to the base and projecting right rotation thereon and adapted to penetrate and mount the tubular core of the roll, said tube '45 6. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper havadapted to be mounted on a fixed surface and having an upper cylindrical portion and having its lower portion only provided with radially outwardly flaring ribs adapted to make frictional engagement with said core.

8. A dispensing holder for a roll of paper having a tubular core, said holder comprising a base adapted to be mounted on a fixed surface, a supporting rod fastened directly to the base and projecting obliquely upwardly therefrom, when the base is in mounted position, a portion of the base being provided with'a flat surface normal to the axis of the rod, and a tube journaled on the rod for coaxial rotation thereon and adapted to penetrate and mount the tubular core of the roll, said tube having a lower outwardly flar REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the I file of this patent: Y

UNITED STATES PATENTS l Number Name Date 670,562 Hornbostel Mar. '26, 1901 1,674,285 Harvey -4 June 19, 1928 1,851,722; Moore Mar. 29, 1932 1,986,500 Charbonneau Jan. 1, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS I Number Country Date 428,712 Great Britain May 17, 1935 453,378

Great Britain Sept.'10, 1936 and adapted to penetrate- 

